Republican lawmakers have argued that these restrictions placed by Proposition 105 have tied their hands and made it extremely difficult to balance the budget in difficult times.

A good chunk of the state budget is voter-protected. Under Prop. 105, which voters passed in 1998, the Legislature cannot amend a ballot proposition unless the amendment “furthers the purposes” of the original proposition. The amendment also must be approved by three-fourths vote of the Legislature.

An analysis prepared by the Legislature’s budget arm in 2008 stated that about $3.6 billion of the state’s then $10-billion general fund budget could be viewed as voter-protected. Additionally, some $1.2 billion in non-general fund spending also appeared to be subject to the provisions of Prop. 105, according to the Joint Budget Legislative Committee.

The measure, SCR1033, which repeals Prop. 105, was approved by a vote of 6-to-2.

“What this does is to allow voters to reconsider what they passed at the time (and) remove the political handcuffs off of this body,” said Sen. Russell Pearce, who sponsored the measure.

“You wouldn’t be looking for a tax increase today if you had the ability to manage this entire budget,” he said, adding some programs wouldn’t be hit as hard.

But Sen. Paula Aboud, a Democrat from Tucson, said the public does not trust the Legislature.

She said voters were unhappy with decisions made by lawmakers; hence they passed Prop. 105.

“This wasn’t just one person. This was the state of Arizona (not supporting) the way the Legislature handled certain issues,” said Aboud.

“I think the public does not trust the way this Legislature will allocate dollars,” she said, adding sometimes the Legislature’s priorities are different than the public’s.

If voters pass SCR1033, lawmakers would have the ability to amend these voter-mandated spending programs. Lawmakers would also be able to dip into programs that have a dedicated revenue stream, such as the tobacco tax that funds the Early Childhood Development and Health Board.

3 comments

I do not agree with this this change without a side by side examination of each of Prop 105 and SCR1033. The voters have made up their minds when they voted for Prop 105. How will SCR1033 benefit the people of Arizona?

I totally support Russel Pearce’s SCR1033. But I understand how a blanket \let the legislators amend\ the voter approved spending any way they want would worry some. Maybe it would gain more support if the measure limits the legislatures power by stating that they can only reduce the voter approved spending by the same proportion that the revenue has been reduced. For example, If a voter-approved measure is for $1 million and the States’ revenue drops by 10%, then the legislature would be allowed to reduce the $1 million appropriating by $100,000, the same 10%.